When you buy through links in our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn commission. An image of Didymos and Dimorphos composed of data collected by DART (NASA), Hayabusa (JAXA), Hayabusa-2 (JAXA), and OSIRIS-REX (NASA). | Credit: A. Duchene and C. Robin (ISAE-SUPAERO). Scientists have used images collected by NASA’s DART asteroid impactor mission… Read More »
Today, astronomers and space enthusiasts around the world collectively marvel at our mercury presence in the universe, especially as it drifts amidst large asteroids like the one that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. June 30 marks Asteroid Day, an annual holiday to reflect on the possibility of a planet-destroying space rock hitting… Read More »
A threatening asteroid could bring Earth’s oft-quarreling nations together, at least for a while. Dealing with a large, dangerous asteroid in the crosshairs of our planet will require a healthy dose of international cooperation, experts say, and it’s best to start thinking about that scenario now while we have enough time to determine a potential… Read More »
Earth’s “half moon” was likely ejected away from the actual moon relatively recently in the solar system’s history, according to a new study. Kamo’oalewa, a near-Earth object (NEO) 131 to 328 feet wide (40 to 100 meters), was recovered from an asteroid impact between 1 million and 10 million years ago; According to the study,… Read More »
More than two million years ago, a giant asteroid hit Mars, creating a large crater and approximately two billion smaller craters on the surface. These secondary craters appear across 1,000 miles (1,800 kilometers), making this asteroid event one of the largest impacts seen on the Red Planet in relatively recent history. It is estimated that… Read More »
Ground-based radar systems can play a unique role in planetary defense; It could help humanity protect Earth by detecting asteroids and comets on potentially devastating collision courses with our planet. This was the conclusion reached by the National Academies in their 2023-2032 Decadal Survey of Planetary Science and Astrobiology. Currently, only one radar system on… Read More »
Scientists have discovered that the target asteroid in NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) may have been reshaped by the impact. A new study of the impact’s aftermath found that the asteroid, the smaller component of the binary asteroid system, exhibited a loose “rubble” composition. DART crashed into the moonlet Dimorphos orbiting the larger space… Read More »
An artist’s impression of what it would look like if an asteroid hit Earth.Mark Garlick/Science Photo Library/Getty Images NASA works with a worldwide coalition of astronomers to find and track dangerous asteroids. NASA already has a plan in place to warn the public in the event of an impending dangerous asteroid impact. Whether it can… Read More »